The first generation Ranger Raptor was well received and now Ford has beefed up the second generation to give us a brute 3.0-litre twin-turbo EcoBoost petrol V6 with 288 PS.
Permanent four-wheel drive is standard. It can be switched to rear-wheel drive to save fuel and the front and rear diffs and drive modes mean the second generation Ranger Raptor will be able to go from muddy tracks to smooth roads without much hassle.
They’ve carried over the 10-speed auto gearbox but now they’ve added specific engine boost profiles for each gear for performance optimisation.
The bespoke suspension hasn’t been designed to take more than a one tonne payload and this model has a 40kg difference over the previous version which will help the 0-100km/h time but who needs a quick time in an off road vehicle.
This latest truck has 491Nm of torque and an anti-lag system first seen on the Ford GT. This boosts throttle response for those Baja beach runs. Not something we have much access to here in Europe but perhaps might be picked up by the United Emirates desert run crews.
“We really wanted Baja mode to be the ultimate expression of the high-speed off‑road capability,” Dave Burn, Ford Performance chief programme engineer for Ranger Raptor. “It’s a feature at the core of what the Ranger Raptor customer expects.”
Each selectable drive mode adjusts a number of elements from engine and transmission to ABS sensitivity and calibration, traction and stability controls, exhaust valve actuation, steering and throttle response. In addition, the gauges, vehicle information and colour themes on the instrument cluster and centre touchscreen change with the selected drive mode.
The tuning and development work was carried out by Ford Performance using a mixture of computer-aided engineering and real-world testing.
Inside the Raptor comes with sports seats ‘inspired by the F-22 Raptor fighter jet’, highlights on the air vents and leather stitching match the exclusive exterior paint. It now comes with a large 12-inch portrait touchscreen with SYNC4, plus digital dials. These will allow access to menus for configuring climate control, audio, diff locks and exhaust settings.
The new generation Ranger Raptor is set to arrive in Ireland by late summer.